Vacuum dust is a shocker

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HOW much coal is in your vacuum cleaner?

It's a question Mackay Conservation Group secretary Christine Carlisle wants answered.Recently, Ms Carlisle received a shock after she lent her vacuum cleaner to a friend living in Louisa Creek, just south of the Hay Point Coal Terminal.

"She was unable to empty the vacuum cleaner and so I retrieved it and emptied out the dust," Ms Carlisle said.

"I was completely shocked because her dust is completely different to my dust.

"I live at Ooralea and I have grey dust but her dust was black... and it was greasy."

Ms Carlisle's discovery follows a recent survey conducted by the conservation group Citizens Concerned about Dudgeon Point, which showed 43% of total respondents had respiratory illness or had it in their family. This figure increased to 46% within 6km of Dudgeon Point. A total of 399 were surveyed.

Mackay Conservation Group co-ordinator Patricia Julien said while other factors could have contributed to the colour of the dust, the discovery had spawned a novel idea to determine the true amount of coal in the air around Mackay.

"If we have someone who could donate off-cuts from carpet then we could have a 1m square to place in (people's) homes to standardise data," Ms Julien said.

"Then vacuum up the carpet and collect what was in there. It would then have to be analysed to see how much dust was coal dust."

The Environmental Impact Statement for the new $10-$12 billion Dudgeon Point Coal terminal expansion is being prepared for the Queensland Co-ordinator General.

On its website, North Queensland Bulk Ports said the project was expected to include new coal stockyards, up to six new ship berths, a new rail connection from the Goonyella system to Dudgeon Point, as well as an expansion of the existing tug harbour at Half Tide. Ms Julien said she was not convinced current testing methods for coal dust in Mackay's air gave an accurate picture.

But a spokeswoman for North Queensland Bulk Ports said all terminals complied with strict conditions set by the Department of Environment and Heritage, with monitors and gauges analysed monthly.